Brendan Bianowicz is back with a bunch of updates to the GM Trade History series. The Excel spreadsheets linked below cover each GM's trades, free agent signings, and top draft picks via tabs along the bottom. It's interesting to see each GM's most frequent trade partner - for example, Omar Mi...

Uhmm...can anyone explain why the Phils signed Polanco to play third? Are they expecting their budget to be so tight that they couldnt spring for the extra couple mill it would have taken to get Beltre instead?

Some Thursday night links... Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports note that the Phillies had a creative idea for third base before signing Placido Polanco - they asked Orlando Hudson if he'd make the position change. He passed. Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III spoke openly about...

11:36am: The Braves officially announced the Wagner signing, tweets MLB.com's Mark Bowman. That implies he passed his physical. 1:28am: The Braves have agreed to sign Billy Wagner, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The deal is worth $7MM and includes a $6.5MM option for 2011 that vests ...

Mike DiGiovanna and Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times pass on a few interesting notes related to the Dodgers and Angels. Here are the highlights: If the Angels were to make a run at Roy Halladay, it would cost them at least one big-league arm from the Joe Saunders/Jered Weaver/Ervin Sant...

Okay, I dont understand why everyone seems to think the Braves got completely jobbed in the Tex trade. Lets take a closer look at what the Braves gave up in that trade.
1. Salty- the centerpiece of the deal. In 238 career games .251/.314/.389 A .703 OPS with average defense at best. Braves have McCann. No big loss here.
2. Andrus- Despite a pedestrian year at the plate (.267/.32/.373) he was a fantastic defender at a premium position. With more ML seasoning and improved plate discipline he could become one of the better leadoff hitters in baseball and a dynamic all around player. This loss has been negated, however, by the emergence of Yunel Escobar as one of the better ss in the game.
3. Feliz- A very impressive debut but I would be careful about canonizing him after only 31 IP. Especially if the Rangers are serious about converting him to a starter.
4. Matt Harrison- 26 career games, 147 IP. 76/54 K/BB ratio. 5.76 era. 1.6 whip. Uhmmm....no thanks. I think the Braves are good on pitching anyways.
5. Beau Jones- Never pitched above AA. In 2009 he went 3-4, 4.47 era, 57/33 k/bb, 1.66 WHIP. See Above.
In each case the Braves were dealing from a position of strength. Brian Mcann's presence made salty unneeded. After dealing him away, Tyler Flowers emerged as a top catching prospect. (Later traded to CHW for Javy Vazquez)
Yunel Escobar's presence made Elvis Andrus expendable. (Escobar also allowed us to trade Edgar Renteria to the Tigers for Jair Jurrjens and Gorkys Hernandez, whom we flipped for Nate McLouth. Talk about bad trades!)
The loss of Feliz might come back to bite the Braves but the other 2 pitchers are quite redundant in the Braves organization at this point.
The Braves made a move to win the world series. They sacrificed alot of future talent for 1 full and highly productive season of Tex and .5 years of the Great Ron Mahay. I think it is a testament to the Braves' drafting and development team that not only did this trade not cripple their farm system, but the argument could be made that it is even stronger now than it was before the trade. Wow.
In any event, I think we are focusing too much on the wrong end of the Tex trade. We should be complaining about Tex's exit from Atl to Laa. Mark Texiera for Casey Kotchman and Stephan Marek? Yech!

Over the last month or so, we've been taking a look at the decade's biggest trades. Here are some of the moves that defined, enabled and inhibited teams throughout the 2000s. Runners Up Mark Mulder for Dan Haren Erik Bedard to the Mariners Ken Griffey Jr. to the Reds Scott Kazmir for Victo...

I can see the Nats as being major players for at least 2 of these guys. Washington has money to spend and would be an excellent low-pressure environment in which a pitcher coming off an injury has the opportunity to prove his durability. I see them going after Sheets at 1/9mil with a 10 mil option or 2 mil buyout. I see them going after Bedard with 2/16.
Rotation of Sheets, Bedard, Strasbourg, Lannan, Olson with Jordan Zimmerman coming back late in the year wouldnt be too shabby.

This year's class of free agent starters is littered with high-risk, high-reward arms. These pitchers can dominate, but as the Red Sox found out with Brad Penny and John Smoltz, they aren't sure things. Starters like Rich Harden (10.9K/9), Erik Bedard (9.8K/9), Ben Sheets (3.09 ERA in 2008), Jus...